DREAMS- Shaken Hands in Faraway Lands
by Atticus
Summary: A bizzare James/Misty fiction. Not quite finished.


DREAMS -- Shaken Hands in Faraway Lands  
Atticus  
  
  
"I... I can't believe it." Ash whispered to himself as a tear sprang from his eye.  
  
"Ash?" Tracey said softly. His eyes had turned from their normal color to tiny black dots inside gray structures. They stuck open, as if he was unable to blink. He whispered again, "Ash, please tell me where you are. I want to know where you are."  
  
"I'm over here, Tracey." Ash replied as he closed his eyes and faced downward in thought, "How could I have let them do this to her?"  
  
Tracey pushed his hands forward and took a step. He stumbled instantly, it was like walking in a closed room. Tracey didn't like the dark, it has scared him since he was a little boy. Now he had to live with it.  
  
Misty was lying on her back in the hospital bed. All the color had been drained from her face except black burn marks on her cheeks. The heart monitor beeped slowly, giving an almost clocklike impression to the entire room.  
  
"They didn't deserve that." Ash thought to himself, "I deserve to be the one stuck in the hospital bed, or without eyesight, why couldn't I have been the one?" Ash looked at Tracey, who was slowly trying to make his way toward Ash. He tripped over an IV tube, but his outstretched arms prevented him from hitting his face on the floor.  
  
"Tracey, are you OK?" Ash said aloud. He hated having to see his friends like that. He crawled over and grabbed Tracey's hand, pulling him to his feet.  
  
Tracey put his hands on Ash's shoulders and dug his face into one of them, "I don't want to be here anymore, Ash! I want to go home!"  
  
Ash took another glance at Misty. He didn't want to leave her, but visiting hours would be over soon, anyway. He grabbed Tracey's hand and led him out the door.  
  
Underneath Misty's eyelids, her eyes were racing.  
  
  
  
Jessie kneeled by her downed parter, staring at him with a horribly blank facial expression.  
  
She had him lying in a patch of daisies with his arms crossed. Meowth was frowning sadly, his lips quivering. Since Jessie wasn't crying, there was no way he would.  
  
"Oh James..." Jessie said to herself as she closed her eyes sadly and put her hand on James' head. She kissed him on the forehead and stood up. "Let's go, Meowth." she said softly, and started to walk.  
  
"Wha?" Meowth said as he rose and followed Jessie, "You mean you're just going to leave him here? What if he wakes up?"  
  
A tear was swept from Jessie's eye, "He won't."  
  
  
  
Her lids opened up, revealing the bright blue sapphires beneath. She looked around to see a bright purple sky with a blue sun, dark black trees with no leaves, and acres of multicolored plants. It was unlike anything she had ever seen. It was beautiful, but invoked a fear she could not explain. She was alone.  
  
"Hello?" Misty's voice echoed through the landscape, changing tones with each 'Hello' that returned to her. She turned her head. James had been watching her.  
  
"I was waiting for you to wake up." He spoke in a tone that meant obvious fear. Misty had never seen anyone so scared in her life, even during those times she had seen James sure he was about to face death she hadn't seen him this scared. But that was no excuse, she remembered well that whole dramatic episode. How he had tried burning down an entire hospital building.  
  
"I don't want to talk to you." Misty snapped as she turned her head and started to walk. There was a problem, she didn't know where she was going.  
  
"I tried the same thing." James said timidly. He was grinning weakly. He didn't have a clue what was going on, and he could tell Misty had the same opinion.  
  
Misty knelt over, "I didn't know even you and Jessie could be so cruel." She covered her eyes, "That was a hospital, James! All those people had no defenses, no nothing. You even took some of their lives. How can you do those sort of things?"  
  
James turned around, "It wasn't us." His lips quivered, as he was trying to hold back from crying, "I don't know what started the fire. All I know is that I saw it coming after me... and I woke up here."  
  
Misty's eyes were filled with tears, "But..."  
  
"No buts, Misty." James said as he held his hand in a 'Stop right there' fashion, "We need to find our way out of here. No matter how much we don't want to, we need to work together. You know it and I know it."  
  
"I know it." Misty said, "But I still don't believe your story."  
  
James sighed and started walking. Misty traveled close behind. She didn't like James, but it was better than being alone.  
  
The landscape seemed endless. Where one tree ended, another began. Sometimes Misty thought they had been walking in circles. The sun was a giant blue circle in the sky, and although it didn't have the hot appearance it should have, it was blazing. It beat down on the two trainers so hard that James found it hard to walk. Beads of sweat formed on his face with each new step. He soon remembered Misty was behind him. He turned to see her panting, tired, and weak.  
  
"I... can't... go..." Misty tried to get the words out. She was burning hot, and wanted to go to sleep.  
  
"We can't just stop..." James said. He was tired as well, but didn't trust trying to sleep there. It was too creepy. There was no wind, no sound, no anything. There weren't even Pokémon.  
  
"Please." Misty whispered. She was exhausted to the point of even being sick. She needed a rest.  
  
"OK." James said after a moment of hesitation. He sat down under a tree. The bark was black, and when he ran his finger across it, his finger would blacken from the substance covering it. The tree almost looked burnt...  
  
Misty sat down under the same tree. James looked down at her, wondering why, out of all the trees in the area, she had sat down next to him. Misty sniffed and put her head against James' shoulder.  
  
"I..." James started, but decided not to speak anymore. He put his arm around Misty's back for comfort, but couldn't fall asleep. It didn't seem safe, plus the feeling of one of his enemies so close to him gave him the creeps.  
  
  
  
Meowth had finally concluded that Jessie's veins were made of ice. He hadn't seen one tear emerge from her eyes, and they had just lost their best friend.  
  
Jessie had her arms behind her head, not saying a word. She looked at the sky, and Meowth thought her to be pondering something, only he couldn't figure what. Her eyes didn't look glazed over or anything, she didn't even look sad.  
  
  
  
"No... body knows... the... trou... ble I've seen..." James sang lightly to himself. The sun had turned from blue to white, the sky had turned black, and the trees had turned yellow and orange. During the day, there was no noise. During the night, there was noise everywhere. Twigs snapped, and wind coupled with the cawing of birds made the scene all the more horrifying. A twig snapped behind him, and James jerked even more alert. He accidentally grabbed Misty's back, causing her to awaken abruptly.  
  
"What the..." she said as she tried to stay asleep.  
  
James turned around to look behind him, Misty still somewhat squirming in his lap, to see something dark green coming slowly to him. He froze. He couldn't figure out what it was, but he figured due to the bad luck they've been having that it wasn't a good thing. He shook Misty awake and basically threw her onto her feet.  
  
"Why'd you do that?" Misty screamed. She looked to see the terrifying new colors of the sky and trees, then got as close as she could to James, "What... is... that?"  
  
"I don't know, Misty." James said. He was shivering. Suddenly, the figure came close enough to see that it was a green shadowlike presence. It took the form of a man's body, the eyes white. It moved slowly and stumbled with each step, as if it was lost.  
  
Misty shed a tear as she looked into those eyes. They shown pure fear. Whatever this thing was, it was scared to death. She looked as deep into its eyes as she could. It looked so familiar.  
  
"Run." James said softly. He didn't move, just spoke. As the figure suddenly outstretched its arms, James broke into a run, dragging Misty behind him by one arm.  
  
Misty tried running, but couldn't seem to see what was going on. James was dragging her exceptionally quickly, and it was so dark Misty couldn't figure out how James could find his way at all.  
  
James nearly fell into a new spot next to a tree. He was obviously a wreck, his eyes were stuck open, and he was wheezing (sp?) from exhaustion.  
  
Misty fell right next to him. She wasn't nearly as tired as James (James having done all the work,) but she still felt like dying right there. Instead she started crying uncontrollably into James' back, as if she forgot who she was with.  
  
Annoyed, James stood up, still exhausted, and walked to a different tree. He sat down and reclined on the bark, the yellow and orange seemed to burn from their appearance. He set his head back and closed his eyes.  
  
Misty proceeded to cry into the tree. She was confused; sometimes James seemed friendly, other times just cold. She looked at him once more, and dug her face into her arms to fall asleep.  
  
During the middle of the night, Misty stood and walked as silently as she could, as not to wake James up. The trees had turned to a yellow color with black stripes that moved gently with the wind. All sound had been muffled, and she could barely feel what was going on. She'd have to rely on her sight.  
  
She turned back to where James had been. Two unshadowed colored figures were walking.  
  
First there was a red one. The figure suggested it was female, with long hair shining eyes. It was much taller than the figure behind, which was half the red figure's size, and a bright yellow. The yellow one had a blue midsection, right in the heart of the figure, and several blue lines streaming from its half-closed white eyes.  
  
The red one was different.  
  
No tears streamed from her eyes, she seemed to show no emotion on her face. However, everything inside her was blue, trying to escape.  
  
They were walking away from a pile of multicolored flowers. They were daisies, only red and blue and yellow and many other bright colors. They were exceedingly beautiful, they changed color in the same fashion as a mood ring, which Misty was soon mesmerized with. She bent forward and stroked one of the beautiful petals, when suddenly the flower she held turned dark red. This color was so dark it sent chills down Misty's spine. The other flowers followed, and soon it was a giant patch of dark red flowers. They looked like, and soon were found to be, roses that were charred almost black.  
  
They were moving.  
  
Misty was startled, but figured since she was lost anyway, it was worth a shot to see what was going on. She pulled out rose after rose until she saw a ghostly white figure staring back at her. It was obviously alive, but looked in utter horror! Moving more of the flowers, she recognized who it was.  
  
"JAMES???" Misty cried out. Simultaneously a bolt of thunder crashed in the distance, the sky turned bright orange and red rain came pouring down. The color had returned to James' body, and he started breathing heavily. Misty noticed she had been sitting on him.  
  
"M-Misty... I..." James stuttered as he pondered their awkward position. He didn't think they were... um... "that way" together. He pushed her off him gently and looked around. The entire world was yellow, black, and orange, with large red drops of what appeared to be rain slowly floating to the ground.  
  
James moved forward, staring at them. They had a creepy, yet lovely appearance, of which he couldn't remove his eyes. He stepped forward again, then again. They were drawing him toward them.  
  
Misty put her hand out toward James, "James, please wait! You don't know what they are!"  
  
James ignored Misty's request, but walked still further in the distance. One of the drops came inches from his face before coming to an abrupt stop and changing to a deep purple. James put his hands out to touch it, but it was repelled like a magnet. When he tried grabbing it with both his hands, the ball-shaped figure would get smaller. Mesmerized, James just stared at it. It was a dazzling several shades of purple, all swirled together and moving. James closed his eyes and exhaled. As he did so, the liquid seeped into his nose and mouth. As he opened his eyes, the world seemed normal again. He was in the city. There were no cars, no people, no activity of any kind. Just then, he heard a blurred voice.  
  
"James?" It said.  
  
"What???" James asked, frightened. He did not yet see anyone.  
  
"James! What's going on, James?"  
  
He recognized the voice. It was Misty's. There was such a blur in her voice, he found it hard to decipher at first. Now that he knew who it was, he had to find her.  
  
"James?" Misty asked again. He had been staring blankly at nothing since that purple goo had entered him, "What's going on?"  
  
"MISTY???" James screamed, "WHERE ARE YOU???" He started running around frantically, coming to an abrupt stop every once in a while, trying to find her.  
  
"What, James?" Misty asked. He had said something... but they weren't even real words. They were a bunch of nothing, like when someone talks in their sleep.  
  
James' eyes still stuck open as he searched frantically for the source of the voice, but he couldn't find it. He knelt on the ground and cried. He couldn't even close his eyes, they were stuck open. He grabbed at the ground, it was the worst feeling he ever had, trying to find something that wasn't there.  
  
Misty pitied the young man clawing at the black ground, tears streaming from his eyes. She didn't understand what he was saying, what she did understand that whatever was going on must have been terrifying to him. She walked over to him, he was shuddering so helplessly. She knelt next to him and put her arm around his neck," It's OK, James."  
  
"Misty?" James said. He lifted his hand up to feel hers, and his crying stopped. He wasn't alone anymore.  
  
Misty understood what he had said for the first time since the incident had happened. She nestled James' head into her shoulder and let him cry into it. It didn't seem he was coming back to the same world for a while, she figured she'd better at least give him some comfort.  
  
James never saw Misty, only felt her. Before him, he saw a familiar sight, the hospital building. It was completely intact, although he was sure he'd seen it burn just the day before!  
  
Something else caught his eye. A figure in black entered the building. It had long blond hair, and carried a giant sack. Following it was another figure in black, this one with short turquoise hair. He seemed to be on the lookout for something.  
  
James recognized finally who they were, "Bacassy."  
  
"What?" Misty said. He was obviously trying to say something, but she couldn't understand anything he said.  
  
"Buh... Cassy..." James said. His eyes were opened even wider now, and he seemed even more tense, "Buck... Ka... Cassy..."  
  
Misty grabbed James tighter, and asked him slowly, "What are you trying to say, James?"  
  
James sighed, his lips quivering, "Buhch... Cassy..."  
  
"Butch... Cassy..."  
  
"Butch..." James started as he nodded his head slowly, "uh... Cassy... tee."  
  
"Butch and Cassidy." Misty's eyes perked open.  
  
James started to speak again, "Hoptal... hope... hopetal..."  
  
"Hope?" Misty said, "Hope..."  
  
James covered his eyes with his hands, "Hope... hoasp... it all."  
  
Misty knelt in front of James and grabbed his shoulders. The only color in his eyes was a swirling purple, and he stared blankly ahead. Tears streamed down his face, he was terrified. Misty stared at him, "James, you need to calm down," she said slowly, "I want to help you, but I can't unless I understand you."  
  
James didn't say anything. He was holding back yet more tears.  
  
"Please," Misty said. Now the tears were forming on her own face.  
  
"Fire." James said suddenly. Just one word, but it was completely understandable.  
  
The word rang in Misty's ears. Fire. It was the last thing she'd seen before she woke up in this world. Fire.  
  
James started to shake. His eyes didn't move, but his lips were quivering. Suddenly his head cocked upward and he gasped, "Nono hospal!" He rose to his feet, and tried to run.  
  
Misty grabbed James by the arm. Instantly he fell to the ground. Misty lifted him to his knees and screamed in his face, "DON'T LEAVE ME!"  
  
James was bawling and screaming, "NONO HOSPAL! LEA MILEE VALO! LEE VALO!" He kept trying to stand, either falling over or grabbed again by Misty.  
  
Misty started to cry. It was like listening to a deaf person try to speak. The difference was, although he couldn't communicate with him, she could still talk and he would understand, "James. Calm down."  
  
James wouldn't calm down, "NONO! NONO! NO HOSPAL LEE VALO! LE VALO! LEE VALONE!"  
  
Misty heard that last phrase, 'lee valone.' Leave alone, "What is going on, James?" She now figured she at least understood some things. It had to involve Butch and Cassidy. It had to involve fire. He wanted them to leave something alone, but what?  
  
"Leave alone!" James yelled one last time before he buried his face in his arms and lost it.  
  
Misty lifted his head up. She looked as deep in his eyes as she could. He still had to be there, underneath the film of purple goo that had filled his mind. She suddenly felt calm. James said nothing, just breathed deeply as tears flowed down his face.  
  
"Misty?" James said softly.  
  
"Good." Misty thought, "He at least knows I'm here." she tilted his head up and stared again at his face. It was bone white from terror. Even his lips had lost all color. She soon felt herself drifting closer to him. Her hand slid behind his and her eyes closed gently as her lips met his.  
  
"Mm?" James made a noise even he didn't expect, and his eyes slid shut. He stopped caring that the girl he couldn't see was his enemy, only that she was the one kissing him at the moment. His eyes opened slowly to find that he was back in that mysterious world again.  
  
  
  
  
"Ash?" Tracey said out loud as he slept on the floor of the Pokémon center, "Do you think Misty will ever be concious again?"  
  
Ash didn't answer. He was crying, but trying not to show it. 


End file.
